Re: Ada95 Pretty-Printers/Coding styles

[jeff@grammatech.com]

In article <33BBEC62.5F16@gsg.eds.com>,



  nospam@gsg.eds.com wrote:







> Your web page talks about enforcing style, but doesn't mention automating it. > If your LSE does indeed provide for assiting in entry of properly indented and > delimited code, that's worth mentioning explicitly; if it doesn't, I question > the value of the product, especially since much less expensive LSEs are

> capable of doing that.







Looking at the Ada-ASSURED web page from your perspective I can see how
it  might sound a little heavy handed on the "enforcement" side and
doesn't say enough about how it automates formatting and style.  I will
keep this in mind as we update our web site this summer.







To be more explicit, as you suggest, Ada-ASSURED does automate formatting
for you, so you don't have to think about spaces and tabs any more (or
about capitalization of identifiers, which can be controlled by
syllable).  Furthermore, if you make a style error, like try to put in
too many nested loops or enter an illegal goto for example, Ada-ASSURED
will provide a warning message as a comment in your code (warnings are in
three levels of severity: indicator, violation, and syntax error) or
optionally in a separate window.  This is what is meant by "enforced." 
Ada-ASSURED doesn't stop you dead in your tracks, but it lets you know
where problems are.







Ada-ASSURED's automatic formatting follows the SPC AQ&S, but it can be
modified for project-specific requirements.







It differs from other so-called LSEs you refer to in several ways:







1.  Ada-ASSURED understands Ada 95 and Ada 83 structure, enabling
engineers to edit code structures as easily as they edit text.	This
gives engineers another arrow in the quiver for editing code faster and
with fewer errors.  AA underlines the Ada structural unit surrounding the
cursor.  An Ada structure can thus be selected for cut and paste
instantly without having to scroll from the beginning to the end of the
structure -- AA knows where it begins and ends	(even for structures
spanning several pages) and never misses a character.  This is real
language-sensitive editing.  Of course, conventional text editing (along
with textual cut and paste) can be done at the same time:  Ada-ASSURED is
a hybrid text and structure editor.







2.  AA formats your code as you type it in.  AA formatting optimizes
available window real estate for readability.  If you change your window
width, the code is reformatted to fit the window and with correct
indentation.  This way you could have multiple windows opened and resize
them as you wish and it will still be easy to read all your code.  Other
editors can't do this.







3.  AA does true syntax coloring, not the more rudimentary lexical
coloring of Emacs Ada mode and various "programmer's editors."	True
syntax coloring is more complete and accurate, so it's easier to read and
understand code.







4.  AA can do structural search and replace.  You can search for a
particular structure.  Other editors don't offer this precision, which
can be a real time-saver.







5.  AA provides context-sensitive templates.  The templates it offers are
context-sensitive to the structure where your cursor is located, so only
the templates you might need are offered.  AA templates are syntactically
correct skeleton code with placeholders that can be quickly filled in. 
AA templates can be selected via the mouse or through simple key
commands.  Another time-saver that also reduces errors.  Other editors
may have templates, but you've got to search to find the one you want.







6.  AA includes language-sensitive scripting.  The scripting language is
similar to Emacs; one big difference is that AA provides direct access to
the structure of your code, so you can write very precise code
transformations etc.







There's more, but I've surely gone far enough commercially in this
posting.  Back to your posting:  yes, there are cheaper LSEs, but they
aren't really language-sensitive.  They are text editors with lexical
coloring and hard-written templates.  Ada-ASSURED is a true
language-sensitive editor (GrammaTech's founders pioneered
language-sensitive editing at Cornell University back in the 70s). 
Ada-ASSURED pays for itself through increased productivity, fewer errors,
and beautiful looking code.  It continues to pay for itself down the road
because your code will be easier to read and understand, and therefore
easier to maintain and reuse.







Some folks don't like the concept of language-sensitive editing. 
Similarly, I know some people don't like word processors and would rather
use a pen and paper.  The end product can be the same either way I
suppose.  A word processor or a good LSE just makes it easier to get
there, they can catch some errors along the way, and they can
automatically ensure consistency.











"Technology will allow us to be whatever we are already, only more so."







-- Arno Penzias

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